The Dick Tracy Magic Decoder was an integral part of American advertisements in the 1950s, encouraging children to eat their breakfast cereals while also capturing their interest in rudimentary code breaking. This was great for children, but likely a nightmare for parents, who were undoubtedly nagged into buying Post Sugar Crisp, Raisin Bran and Sugar Rice Krinkles to excess. The daily diet of codebreaking a fascination for many children growing up in mid twentieth century, post-war America. Fast forward to October 22nd 1969, when Dr DCB Marsh, president of The American Cryptogram Association, laid down a challenge to Zodiac. In the San Francisco Examiner article, Dr Marsh stated "The killer wouldn't dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his name in a cipher to established cryptogram experts. "Zodiac" had not done this, Marsh suggested, because to tell the complete truth in relation to his name, in cipher code, would lead to his capture. I invite 'Zodiac' to send The American Cryptogram Association a cipher code-however complicated." Therefore, wouldn't it be just like the Zodiac Killer to send the newspapers the most uncomplicated cipher code he could find, based on a code found in children's cereal boxes. I believe he may just have done exactly that.

Courtesy of Zodiac Killer Site forum

In the picture above, the writing states "This is your Red Decoder. Punch out white holes to decode answers to Red "Crimestopper" messages on the package. Green questions requires a Green Decoder from other Sugar Crisp, Post Raisin Bran, or Sugar Rice Krinkles packages".

Where have we seen a possible "Red Decoder" and "Punched out white holes" in one of Zodiac's communications before.The '13 Hole' Postcard was mailed by the Zodiac Killer on October 5th 1970, just shy of the one year anniversary of the 340 cipher. In the postcard the Zodiac Killer provided us with his "red crucifix decoder" and "13 punch-holes" in the fabric of the card. This was his very own Dick Tracy descoder. Seagull, a contributor to the Zodiac Killer Site forum, was on the right path when she stated "If I were to attempt to try something like this, to find a hidden message, I think I would start with using the shape of the crosshair symbol for the template. The problem would be to determine a size and whether or not to round the shape or square it off. Even if you managed to hit on the right size and shape, the message could still be coded. But my totally untrained cipher gut tells me that if the 340 can be solved it's might be something as seemingly simplistic as this". It may very well have been this simplistic, with everybody expecting the Zodiac Killer to make his second cipher much harder, after his first cipher was cracked with relative ease. The Zodiac Killer taking the shape of the "red crucifix decoder" as the template, to be coupled with the 13 punch-holes he added to the October 5th 1970 postcard All we had to do was arrange the 13 punch-holes in the shape of a crucifix, so when it was placed over the 340 cipher, a message was revealed. The Zodiac Killer did add a second tier of messages in the 340 cipher, to which he revealed in the following Halloween Card on October 27th 1970. Nobody at the time understood the secret message in the '13 Hole' Postcard, which is why he added the second layer just 22 days later.

The 13 punched holes in the postcard was the initial attempt by the Zodiac Killer to show us that the "crackproof" 340 cipher was a Dick Tracy style code. Arranged on the template of the "red crucifix", a message would be revealed in the 340 cipher. If this first step was achieved successfully, then the message in the 340 cipher would be obvious. The "Dick Tracy Red Crucifix Decoder" with 13 punch-holes, if placed bisecting the 340 cipher both vertically and horizontally and arranged correctly, would reveal the wording "Paradice" and Slaves" on the 340 cipher. This is shown by the 13 white circles on the diagram below. Whether the red crucifix was intended to be reversed in sinister fashion (keeping the correct proportions relative to Paradice and Slaves on the 340), as hinted by the reversed writing on the '13 Hole' Postcard, is open to conjecture.

Unfortunately, nobody appeared to understand the simplicity of his message, so he added a second crucifix (or cross) just three weeks later, when he mailed the Halloween Card on October 27th 1970. Here, he added a second layer, by giving us the second part of the message in the 340 cipher. The Zodiac Killer placed the wording By Fire, By Gun, By Rope and By Knife around the crucifix of Paradice and Slaves, and added the message "sorry no cipher" in the form of a third crucifix (or cross) to the envelope inner. The reason being, the 340 was "no cipher" - it was a simple Dick Tracy punched hole decoder style puzzle. The Halloween Card began with "From Your Secret Pal", so it's no surprise that it contained a secret message also. If you create the 37 punched holes in the style of a Dick Tracy Decoder (shown in the above right image) and place over the 340 cipher, the By Fire, By Gun, By Rope and By Knife wording is revealed - and derived from the Halloween Card. The respective 'method of death' remaining in each quadrant of the 340 cipher (9 by 10 and sharing the central column).

The Zodiac Killer manufactured the Halloween Card to depict thirteen eyes, often suggested as the Eye of Horus. Funerary amulets were often made in the shape of the Eye of Horus. The symbol was intended to protect the pharaoh in the "afterlife" and to ward off evil. Ancient Egyptian and Middle-Eastern sailors would frequently paint the symbol on the bows of their vessels to ensure safe sea travel. This would certainly give us Paradice, Slaves and the Afterlife in one neat package.

Osiris, is the Egyptian god of fertility, alcohol, agriculture, the "afterlife", the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. This normally wouldn't be relevant, but for the Dick Tracy Decoder Ring (designed to conceal messages or items) and the Dick Tracy Radio Show sponsored by Quaker Oats, which featured the The Black Pearl of Osiris, given to Dick Tracy to hide in the Decoder Ring. This ring had a specific design on its face, split into four quadrants just like the Paradice and Slaves configuration on the Halloween Card. In the top left quadrant is a Zodiac-like design, bearing some similarity to the crosshairs of Zodiac, along with a moon design in the lower left quadrant. "The Dick Tracy Premium was offered in exchange for five box tops of Quaker Puffed Wheat or Rice and one wonders how many uneaten boxes were dismembered by eager kids before the offer expired". See here at the Dick Tracy Depot.

The Dick Tracy Decoder and Dick Tracy Ring were both targeted at chidren from the 1930s onwards - and both may have had an influence on the cereal munching Zodiac in his childhood years - the rudimentary coding of which may have spawned the inspiration in his design of both the '13 Hole' Postcard and Halloween Card in the October of 1970. Many people believed the Zodiac Killer, shaken by the ease to which his first cipher was cracked, devilishly formulated a far more impenetrable cipher the second time round. Yet, it may be the case, that the inspiration for the Bay Area serial killer in his design of the 340 cipher, may have been inspired by nothing more complicated than the cereal boxes of children.

Most certainly of pertinence,Richard,to bring up the subject of codes and ciphers,which was widespread,in post-war western society.Both in industry,and indeed filtering through to culture,itself.

So names,such as ''Dick Tracy'',became synonymous,with this form of secretive communication.And,in the ''grown ups'' world,there was a small department alloction,to most large businesses,devoted to secret communication,between branches,hidden from advantage-taking competition.Food,Car manufacture and the Oil Retail,were industries of particular note,that saw this means,as a form of protection and commercial survival.

I am confident that the Zodiac,as a child of undoubted curiosity and above average intelligence,would have taken to codes,for its novelty,if nothing else.

And yes,I agree that there was,at least an influence going on,in the 13 Hole Card.A red herring though,perhaps,with the Latin cross denoting,simply,''blood on his hands'',and the 13 holes,as a ''straightforward'' dot-to-dot puzzle,with a symbol for the ''radio wave'' emerging.

But,if one looks around,at the many cryptograms and cipher related puzzles,that are most likely to be the creation of the Zodiac,this form of secretive communiction,clearly held appeal to him....and,going all the way,back to childhood.

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Tom1

8/22/2019 06:23:26 am

I have not a clue on how to decode a cipher, but it makes perfect sense that the 340 can not be solved with traditional means. The first web site that I found when beginning to read about this case was run by Randall Clemons. His position was that an overlay was necessary in order to decode the 340. It appears that the above article clearly supports his explanation. Without an overlay(decoder), and a key to the symbols it is not solvable.

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Richard

8/22/2019 10:14:37 am

Although Randall and I differ on the types of overlay, essentially we have reached a similar conclusion to the 340. I wasn't thinking of a Dick Tracy overlay when I'd written the Paradice and Slaves articles, so it has sort of corroborated my initial thoughts, especially when we consider Zodiac would have grew up at a time when rudimentary codes like this were enjoyed by children and pushed by the advertisers in a bid to promote sales. You could say Zodiac was a product of his time Tom.

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